


Numbers Mean Nothing

by RedCrossX



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: AU, Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Cyberpunk, BAMF Clint, Clint Barton Feels, Cyberpunk, Deaf Clint Barton, Dysfunctional Family, Dystopia, Found Family, Genetic Engineering, Genetically Engineered Beings, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Fic, Kid Pietro Maximoff, Kid Steve Rogers, Kid Wanda Maximoff, Other, POV Clint Barton, POV First Person, Past Child Abuse, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Protective Clint Barton, Rebellion, Science Fiction, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Superpowers, Swearing, Tattoos, Team Bonding, Team Dynamics, Team as Family, Teenage Rebellion, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Younger Cast
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-29
Updated: 2017-01-01
Packaged: 2018-09-13 00:48:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9098185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedCrossX/pseuds/RedCrossX
Summary: Clint Barton, one of many young cyberpunks, finds three genetically-engineered kids in the basement of a megacorporation, and naturally, he decides it's his duty to free them from the machinations that challenge their agency. Marked with serial numbers and scared out of their minds, Clint tries his hardest to free them from their cruel fate. Even if it drags his whole rebellion down the rabbit hole.





	1. Changing Plans on the Fly

**Author's Note:**

> A little mix of all my interests in this one. You won't meet the kiddies yet, but we should likely establish that the stakes are already high.
> 
> Please leave a comment if you're willing, and some feedback is always beneficial to making work better.
> 
>  
> 
> http://enigmatic-cyborg.tumblr.com/

It was supposed to be an easy in-and-out kind of job. Slide through, hack a system or two, blow up the foundations and then watch the building collapse to dust behind us. It was simple enough. Something we’d done multiple times.

 What we didn’t expect was a Jacked SOLDIER standing in front of the servers from which we needed direct access.

 Well, shit.

 It was still relatively vivid. I saw the reach for some glowing neon gun on his back, I slung an arrow and fired at his shimmery metal arm and the arrow exploded into a cloud of smoke before he even had time to react.

 “Change of plans!” Nat shouted from behind; her voice tin in my hearing aid, “Split up, take _anything_ and then get the hell out of here!”

 At that point, there wasn’t really any reason to pay attention to anything else. Maybe Tony had some wisecrack to make, or Nat had some more valuable advice, but I was more worried about the dark, brooding figure rushing through the smoke towards us.

  Three steps:

One, split up. Nat started running, Tony’s heavier footsteps behind her, then they spread down two separate paths. I took the more “fun” option of sliding through the SOLDIER’s legs.

It worked _so_ much better than I expected. A silver hand launched at my shoulder as my bow retracted, then expanded once more as I was back on my feet. A quick turn and another arrow stuck into the big guy’s metal arm before delivering a satisfying electric shock, then it was down a hallway.

 “Sorry!” I shouted, probably both as a taunt and maybe with a little sincerity. It was evident that this guy’s brutal efficiency and daunting nature were not generally part of his human self, but that was the Jacking process. Take someone and scramble their brain enough that you can tell them to do whatever and they don’t really have a choice.

 Reason number 9 that companies like this one needed to be buried in the fucking ground.

  Now, as for my decision making, the electro-pulse arrow was not going to help without a direction to go. The path here was a dead-end, but the server was right there.

 A quick glance over my shoulder to see that the SOLDIER was still trying to pull out the arrow and a small smirk dashed across my face for a moment. Two more arrows knocked, then fired as they hit opposite sides of the doorway, and with the press of a button, another explosion. I watched concrete tumble, and with a brilliant laugh; I separated myself from the SOLDIER.

 Maybe this mission wasn’t a total bust after all.

 With a breath, I moved back towards the server. I lifted my wrist and a holographic display on the little wrist-panel came to life the moment my hand was against the server.

 From there, a little decrypting and security breaching before we began.

I took a deep breath and tried to lift the tension from my shoulders. There was no relaxing in moments like this. Any moment something could happen. I tapped against my hearing aid, and with a quick hand motion lowered the hearing just to focus on getting the job done.

 I could hear Nat nagging me about “not giving up a vital sense” or whatever, but I went years without hearing in the first place and I could go another few hours without said “vital sense”.

 A loading bar appeared on my display as it started pulling out files. I had to give it to Stark. His participation in our merry gang was unorthodox at best, but at least he could make tech that was three times as smart as I was.

 Another glance over my shoulder. No rubble had moved, and with lowered hearing all I got was prickling static like a rainstorm. No communications from the other two either. Probably too dangerous.

 I was the one who put myself in this situation in the first place.

 A ding shattered my silence. An audio reminder that overrode my volume controls. I guess this was what Stark meant about adding some more “personalized” features. Regardless, the optimistic “Done!” popping off my wrist suggested that this party was over.

 Now for getting the fuck out of here.

 Quickly I scanned my surroundings. My ears sucked, but my eyes never failed. There was no easy door now that I’d blocked my way in, but I saw it right above the server towers. A ventilation shift providing a little support to the stuffy room. I coughed as dust from the rubble was inhaled, coughing painfully for a moment before seeing a way out of this mess.

 Then I heard it. Even on quieter settings the bang struck like timpani. A cloud of concrete dust blew out from behind me and the window of opportunity shrank.

It could never be easy, could it? Well, guess it was time to skedaddle. I leaped onto the server console, and quickly sprung to the wall before jumping back on top of the server. A quick arrow to the vent burst the top off like a tight jar and soon enough I slipped through.

 What I didn’t expect was the next bend to bring me down. It went from a peaceful squeeze through the main container to a deep drop that was not expected. Without any other gear, the best bet was to press my hands into the sides and hope for the best.

 It took all the willpower I had to not scream as _fucking metal seams_ scratched at my skin. I surmised it was probably better to just lose all the skin on my palms than to break my legs.

 God, was that the compromises we were making?

Still, I kept sliding downwards while using my body as best I could to get some traction between me and the silver walls. I couldn’t be sure that someone wasn’t following me, but I hoped to God that they weren’t. I would’ve turned my hearing aid back up but I also would do anything else than fall that far to my death. You’d think that things like this would be something a sniper could deal with but to hell with dying by a fall.

 At last, feet slammed against a metal floor, and I was army-crawling through another level once more. I don’t know how many vent openings I passed on the way down, but the logic was the deeper I went, the less chance there was they would find me.

That didn’t stop my tech from losing signal the moment I went below ground level. We weren’t this trillion-dollar mega-corporations that took over the world, as it was.

 I tried to up the volume on my aids once more, but it didn’t do much to stop the eerie silence. Even as I crawled along the floor of the shaft it was difficult to discern was going on. Pitch darkness did little to assist the situation, but it was enough to see a large red warning label painted on the inside of the shaft.

 It seemed like the best break that I could find, and it stood out both like a place that denied entry and my one escape.

 How I wonder to this day what may have happened had I chosen a different door.


	2. Out With a Whimper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's always secrets.

Temperature definitely dropped a few degrees the moment my feet tapped new ground. I squeezed out into an ominous room the was cast in a strange glue hue. The blue lighting shone down from further down the hall as I was left with a shiver that bit at my bare arms.

 Crap. Even my breath hovered in front of my face for a moment. Within the blue light I could see the scratches across my hands. I still winced at the pain, but the red stain across my skin was quite concerning. Nat was gonna ream me out for going without gloves again. Anything to resist the cyberpunk stereotype we were falling into, but now I realized that there was a time to be practical. Still, the space was eerily quiet. I had to double check on my hearing aids just to make sure nothing was broken, but I think that was just the space.

 I started walking forward. My feet clanked against metal flooring as the blue lights drew closer and closer. I could make out an outline of a door in the distance, but the ominous glow was enough to grab my attention even for a moment. Despite the tension of it all, I couldn’t help but stop and stare.

 Three blue tanks were lined up against the back wall. Each with a console set up next to them. I moved a little closer in hopes of seeing through the opaque blue liquid, but all that came from it was more neon light. For a moment I swore I could see some kind of shadow hiding within the persistent blue, but a flicker from one of the consoles soon stole my attention. It seemed that my wrist-device had started hacking of its own volition as I watched it cycle through password options as I got closer.

  _WELCOME, SIR._

It displayed. Then, the screen flickered and changed. A few statistics and buttons showed up on the touchscreen console. Some were a little more basic like “options” or “update”, but there were other tabs like “status”, “controls”, among other things. If it was this deep in the basement, there was probably some information they wanted to keep hidden. So naturally I had to figure out as much as possible.

 I started with the “controls” tab, and all I found was a few things like power switches or other such controls. There was one “release” tab that seemed rather curious, but when I touched it I was greeted with a warning.

_THESE UNITS HAVE NOT BEEN JACKED. WOULD YOU STILL LIKE TO RELEASE?_

My brow furrowed. I wasn’t even paying attention to my bloody handprints as I swapped over to a status tab.

 Then everything clicked.

 Three silhouettes showed up on the screen depicting three generic human shapes. Numbers appeared beneath the shadow’s feet, 001, 002, 003 respectively, and numerous other bars depicting life signs and other supports.

 Were they… keeping people in them? That wasn’t going to fly. I swapped back to the other screen.

  _THESE UNITS HAVE NOT BEEN JACKED. WOULD YOU STILL LIKE TO RELEASE?_

I almost broke the console based on hard and fast I smashed those buttons. I even winced at the pain of my torn up hands against the touch screen.

 A few loud beeps, and screeching noises shouted through the tunnel. It was straight out of science fiction as I watched blue liquid drain from the tubes like a drink through a straw.

 All three at once started to drain away as I took a step back. I wasn’t one for serious amounts of drama, but what I saw pulled me into a red haze of rage.

 “Fucking monsters.” I muttered under my breath, for what drained from the tube was the last thing I expected.

 I didn’t need to be convinced at this point. Roxxon and all those other companies out there, the ones who pulled at puppet strings and commanded the masses; I didn’t need to remember why they were the bad guys. But this was a new low.

 A trio of children emerged from the draining blue liquid. The oldest no older than ten, the other two maybe around age seven? Regardless, all three were hooked up with breathing masks and massive metal clamps holding them in place attached to massive arrays of pipes and wires. The eldest-looking was ridiculously brawny for their frame and a nice head of blue-stained blond hair. His eyes were shut, but his face was beyond painful. Strained around the eyes and tired-looking despite the near-endless sleep.

 It was a moment later that he realized they were all naked. Just in shock at first of everything that occurred, he rushed around the room looking for anything he could use to offer some or of comfort before coming to three containers behind him. Three boxes, each with a jumpsuit of some kind and some other stuff in three suitable sizes.

 The first sounds that came from those kids was large gasps for air as the systems released them, and a seam on the glass tubes separated, dropping them all to the floor. All of them were coughing and wheezing until they could force real oxygen back into their lungs. In that moment, something came over me. There was something about kids, let alone what had happened to them before. I was about ready to just throw clothes at them and tell them to run –

 When those blue eyes blinked up at me. The young boy (with seriously dense muscle _holy shit)_ blinked up at him with mixed amounts of loss and confusion.

 So I took a breath, and stepped forward. Slowly, Iifted the trio from the ground and pulled them all onto their feet.

 “Wha-“ The younger boy spoke up, with surreal silver hair and blue-green eyes.

 “hey, it’s alright. You guys okay?”

 The moment I spoke, the dynamic changed immediately. The heavy blond stepped forward, and the younger two stepped behind them as the abject confusion turned into determined anger.

“Who are you?” He asked, “What are you doing here?”

 I lifted my hands, “Hey, I’m not gonna hurt you. In fact, if I were to hazard a guess I’d say I’m probably the friendliest face you’ll see,”

 Then I heard banging. The four humans stared up to the roof above them as I grabbed for the clothes in the boxes and tossed them at the kids.

“Why don’t you get your clothes on, and I’ll try to get you guys out of here.”

 There was one last stare, but the kids seemed to get it a moment later. Jump suits were pulled on, shoes strapped into place (the sound of Velcro stretching was quite prominent), and even a sound of zippers being pulled upwards as they pulled themselves into their outfits.

 “Mister,” the eldest spoke up, “Why… are you here?”

I rolled my eyes as my bow rolled out to its natural position as a weird shiver went up my spine.

“Kay, first of all, it’s Clint.” I groaned, “Secondly, I’m here to break you out!”

 One last moment of a stare between them as the boy pulled on the skin-tight suit and reached for the other two. They were whispering to each other in some language I didn’t really understand, but hey, I’d take that to kids bawling their eyes out.

 There was another beep. And a light by the door flickered red for a few moments. My body snapped to action before I could even think about as an arrow loaded up.

 “Stay close,” I ordered, and the kids quickly complied. At least they seemed to understand the weight of the situation. 

 The first guard came in. White, composite armor grasped their torso and legs, with a dark visor obscuring their face. I don’t think I’ve ever cringed as hard as that first arrow shot off the bow.

 It hadn’t occurred to me until now how painful cut hands could be. I was lucky that the first shot broke through the dark visor and knocked the guy to ground, and soon we were running in a direction and I was clearly not paying attention through the fog of adrenaline.

 We twisted down a hallway. Crackling noises started coming through my earpiece as I figured Stark was trying to contact me again, but there wasn’t time for that. I only had time to see the older boy whispering something to the other kids before another voice dominated the situation.

 “Freeze! Drop your weapon and stop moving!”

 My feet slid to a halt as numerous profanities pressed across my mind that I wasn’t censoring because I was in the presence of children, but a crowd of white armor crooks soon filled the hallway. One stepped forward, a large flashy gun gripped in their hands and pointed it directly at my head.

 Okay, Clint, this looks bad.

“Alright kids,” they started talking, a husky masculine voice behind the mask, “why don’t you get back to your pod and we stop worrying about this.”

“No!” the small girl shouted back.

 Dang, I wanted to applaud her right there on the spot, but with a gun trained on my head, there was nothing that could convince me to move in this situation. What I didn’t expect was the world to go blurry for a second as a gun smashed into the side of my head.

 I crumpled like wet paper as the world around me became difficult to understand. A blur of colors and other things as the sound of fuzz filled my eardrum.

 And then someone was helping me to my feet…

 “Mr. Clint?” the young voice came back, but I could only really pick it up in one ear.

 Shit, did I break another aid? Wait… what happened to the…

 My eyes wandered down the hallway, and what once stood to stop us was now crumpled to the ground. The blood on the walls was enough to make a strong man gag, and I probably would’ve if I wasn’t so fuckin’ dazed.

When I turned back to the kids, I saw that the girl seemed to have passed out, and the tall blond held her tight as the other boy leaped onto his back.

 What once held anger was now concern, in fact, it looked close to tears.

 I scrunched my eyes shut and took another breath. Things were starting to get a little clearer but I was sure as hell going to need some kind of medication at the end of this. Whatever. Focus. Time to get these kids outta here.

 I crouched to his level and stared at the pair that were still awake. Okay, there were _definitely_ tears coming from the tinier one.

 “I’m gonna get you guys outta here, okay? Just hang tight and follow me.” I smiled as best I could, give both boys a bit of a ruffle to their hair before we rushed down the hallway.

 I heard his feet behind me, and good Lord it must take way more than two kids to weight this ten-year-old down. He could probably outrun me if our legs were the same length, and he was carrying a ton of weight as we pressed through into a stairway.

 There were a few more twists and turns. We somehow avoided another guard altercation before we dashed out the side of the building. I was running faster than I ever thought I’d have to, and the kids were keeping up with me without issue.

 I kept going until the building was just another black shadow on the dark horizon. My head ringing, static shouting at me from a broken hearing aid, and my hands’ stinging numbed by the adrenaline coursing through me.

  _“…Clint? You there?” a voice spoke through my working piece, “Yo, Captain Medieval, respond to your fucking messages!_ ”

 “I’m here.” I spoke finally. I guess I’d been holding a lot of air in my lungs this whole time.

 We’d learned a long time ago that you had to be willing to run if you wanted to go up against these things.

I pulled the kids closer as they ducked into the shadow under a balcony from another dingy apartment building. Finally, I had a chance to rip at my shirt and wrap something around my hands, but mostly I was focused on the kids. The eldest was panting heavily as he pulled the girl into his lap, and the boy into his side, but I was caught up by the black number on the side of his neck.

 A thick 001 was marked on the tissue, still firm and bold despite how long he had it, and a similar 002 on the silver-haired boy, and 003 on the younger girl’s neck as well.

 The green-blue eyes from Silver Hair glared at me, but the moment I made eye contact, his face buried away in the older boy’s chest.

 “That was crazy,” the eldest boy whispered.

 I probably would’ve reamed him out for saying something like that, but this kid had just been released from some freaky test tube so maybe it was time for a little slack.

 “Yeah,” I agreed, “Well, I’m glad we got out alright.”

“Are you okay, Mr. Clint? You got hit pretty hard,” the blond asked.

“Look, kid, please just –“

“It’s Steve.”

“Huh?” I blinked.

“My name is Steve,” he huffed with a pout, and good God what an image it was to see this ten-year-old with blood splattered across a weird sci-fi jumpsuit, yet still pouting like the kid he was.

 Clint, it’s happening again. You’re getting attached to people again. Stop it.

“Steve?”

“Yeah. And this is Pietro” – he gestured to the silver boy who just huddled in tighter – “and Wanda.”

 “Is she okay?”

“She’s fine.” Silver boy, Pietro, grunted, “Just tired.”

 He had a bit of an accent too, it seemed. I was lucky that my good hearing aid was to them right now, because I would be so lost if I was positioned in the other direction.

 “ _Clint, who’re you talking to?”_ Tony’s voice grumbled, and he just rolled his eyes in response.

 “Long story, I’ll explain later. Can you come and get me?”

_“Well, I can send Nat on a bike –“_

_“_ Tell her to bring the car.” I sighed

_“…Well okay then, buddy. If you need luxurious five-star service then-“_

And with that I tuned him out. Another breath, and pain shot through my temple once more. While I’m sure I made a sound, I tried my hardest to grit my teeth. Not in front of the kids.

 Yet a moment later someone was gripping my hand, and I could see that Steve was holding it. I winced as he touched it, but it wasn’t a big deal with the fabric in between. Instead I was fascinated with how small his hands were compared to mine. They were unusually rough for a kid his age, but at the same time, so small.

 He pulled himself a little closer, and Pietro stayed close behind. Now, Wanda was sleeping peacefully, unlike before when she was suspended in that strange tube. A good change.

 “So, where are your parents? They must be worried sick.”

Steve’s eyes fell, “Uhm… I lost ‘em when I was three.”

Me and my stupid mouth.

 “So then, you’re all – “

Steve nodded.

My grunt turned into a growl, “and then some freaks came to take you to do whatever they fu-fudging wanted to you?”

I could see the confusion on his face, but I wasn’t really expecting an answer. Instead, I pulled him a little closer, carefully minding Wanda’s head on his knee as I started to rub circles around his back.

 And his lip started to quiver. I got it. That weird moment you get when you’re free from the nightmare you were living.

 Like the night I ditched that circus a long time ago.

“Shh, hey, hey, buddy. We’re all good now, right?”

 Now actual tears were coming down his face, and I could see that Pietro was starting to follow suit. Steve must’ve been their pillar through all this. Nobody likes seeing their leader cry.

 So, even though I had no idea what I was doing, I brought both boys closer, shielding their heads from the world around them and just… stopped.

 Time followed suit. I’m sure I said something or whispered some sweet nothings over them, but I just let them cry it out the best I could while risking my own composure.

 And as the sound of a familiar car motor came into earshot, I was one-hundred percent sure they were coming with me.

Damn it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally the main premise of this whole fic. If people have ideas for adorable children interactions, lemme know so I can maybe pepper some of that through plots and other things.
> 
> As usual, your feedback is appreciated!
> 
> enigmatic-cyborg.tumblr.com


	3. Safe House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Safe as you can be.

It was unusual how quickly Steve snapped out of it when the car rounded the corner. They were wary at first, obviously, but seemed better about it once I got in. It was kind of like herding cats, in a sense. And while I was half-worried that Nat would say something about my new corral of children, I also knew that she was better at reading a situation than anybody.

  “Jesus, Clint. What happened to you?” She muttered as I got closer. I gave my best shrug and carefree grin, and almost got away with it before she started pulling away at the ribbons of fabric wrapped around my hands.

 “Okay, this looks bad,” I grinned slightly as the cuts revealed themselves. She shot him a vicious stare as she slapped at the glove compartment and revealed a loaded first aid kit

 Somehow she managed this while keeping the vehicle on the road. The old clunker was modified greatly by our resident genius, but it still looked rusty and dented around the edges. Natasha claimed that it helped the thing blend in more despite mine and Tony’s protests. You would think that a majority would rule, but Nat was scary with a knife and could likely rip us both apart before we started tearing an Italian car apart.

 Didn’t stop them from changing the plates every time the car took to the road. This drive in particular wasn’t really that eventful. The kids were mostly quiet except for quiet chattering between themselves, and Wanda woke up after some prodding from her twin. To her credit, Nat did a great job of just keep the kids distracted. She asked a lot of questions that they sometimes answered, while also getting some information.

 Okay, Nat could basically take down the whole world herself if I ever decided to leave her alone.

 Still, somehow we made it through keeping a smile on everyone’s face. Those were rare these days. There was even a giggle or two from the back seat that seem to lighten the whole mood as we pulled off one of the main rows and down another dark alley. Lights had been strategically broken by yours truly to assure that no one would look down here, but it wouldn’t be too suspicious. I’ve mentioned how fantastic my eyes are, right? Because they’re probably the best thing that I have.

 “Alright Tony, let us down,” Nat spoke into her own ear piece. A small black bit hidden beneath her red hair. It felt like the first time in ages that her hair had been her natural colour. It always reminded me of those early days, back when rebellion felt a little bit more like a game.

 The ground start to shake beneath them, and slowly the car started heading below ground level.

 I heard a quiet whimper behind us, and there Wanda seemed to be gripping onto Steve’s suit for dear life.

 Right, dark basements.

 “Hey guys, we’re gonna be safe down here, alright?” I grinned, though it led into a long yawn. I guess with the adrenaline leaving I was exhausted. Somehow, that seemed to reassure them a little bit.

 Human connection or some shit.

Wanda glanced upwards, her eyes vibrant and green “W-we’re safe?”

“Yeah,” I nodded, “I mean, it’s a little cramped, but you won’t be stuck in some scary place.”

 I leaned back a little further “and I know that Nat can look pretty scary sometimes but she’s actually really nice. But that’s our little secret.”

 I winced as a hand impacted my ass, and I snorted as I saw Natasha’s lurking grin behind me. Typical.

 Still, the car descended, and lights flickered up from the floor beneath us. The doors flicked open and I flung myself around to get to the door.

 Steve seemed a little out of sorts. He may have been older, but he was really only a head and a half taller than the other two. I mean I’d seen him carry the pair of them, but even he seemed ready to drift off. The least I could do was help them out.

 Even Steve smiled a bit as I helped him down, though the other two stuck to him like a magnet. It was better for now to keep a sizeable distance behind them as they followed Natasha down from the main hidden garage and down into their main base.

 “Get ready to see something cool, guys.”

 To be honest, the place was a mess. After living underground for a few years our general “sprawl” moved away from the norm and pressed towards more common areas. They managed to cordon off one section of the massive space for Tony to tinker all he liked, with a few other pod-like spaces built between the arches just to make up some separate living spaces. I could see Steve’s eyes light up at the sight of it. Tables covered in gear, blinking monitors flickering in the back corner. We’d managed to pull some planks and plywood in to board up some sides and make some room like spaces between us… okay, it was all really a pile a junk. We did odd jobs occasionally to get some cash for parts and other things, though Tony seems to figure it out through credit card fraud among other things.

 Our goal was to topple these companies anyway. May as well take them down slowly too.

 “Well, well, well, the might hero comes marching home!” Tony’s voice echoed through the space. I rolled my eyes and moved to lean on the arch nearby, but somehow found Nat’s shoulder instead. Wow. That pillar was much farther away than I expected.

 He rounded the corner with a pencil behind his ear and vibrant goggles on his head. Heavy, mechanical gloves gripped his hands, glowing with the vibrant blue of that arc reactor thing he created himself at the ripe age of seventeen. In seven years he’d improved it to being a fascinating sustainable energy source, and it was a miracle that he kept the plans hidden knowing his colorful background.

 He didn’t talk about all the details, but there was something about the betrayal of a guardian, kidnapping overseas, then he came back with a deep assurance that the country was corrupt and that his tech was better in his hands than anyone else’s.

 Also he had a glowing spot on his chest that he didn’t like talking about.

 “He’s glowing,” Wanda whispered to Nat just to satisfy my own destruction. Tony glanced down at the kids, then back up to me because I probably wasn’t looking the greatest right now, then probably all over the place.

 “One problem at a time, Tony,” Natasha stated.

“Is it just me or is the room moving in circles?” I tried to explain what was happening. I’m still not sure as to how well it worked.

 Tony pointed at me for a moment, “Okay, I’ll grab Bruce but could you maybe explain the multiple elephants in the room?”

 With a pull, Nat helped me back to my feet, and I grabbed the straps holding my tech to my wrist, separating it before I tossed it over to the young engineer. Luckily he grabbed it out of the air before anything could break.

 “The server info. It’s on there.”

“You got it?” Tony and Natasha shouted, and for once I was confused how that was the thing that got their attention.

 Everything was getting really blurry all of a sudden. Tony kept jabbering on about tech as I glanced over to see who was hopefully Bruce kneeling down to talk to the kids.

 That was where the world lost me.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I woke up to bright lights and silence. Hands covered in bandages, and a quick swipe of my forehead saw what felt like a cold-pack held in place, then for the ears. A typical wake-up after many nights hiding in places or on roads.

 Hearing aids weren’t in, but a quick glance to the crate I’d claimed as a side table revealed both my hearing aids sitting fixed and replaced, as well as what I assumed was some kind of painkiller. Probably from the last Big Pharma raid. Still, with the headache that was creeping up at the back of my brain I didn’t complain as I sent them down the hatch.

 “Glad to see you awake,”

 “Well I’m glad I’m home because if was anywhere else that line would make me wanna brace for torture.”

 The soft laugh from the fresh Doctor Banner was the most reassuring thing I’d heard in ages, even as I started setting my aids back into their proper places. Sure, there was numb pain _everywhere_ but that was the majority of my life anyway.

 Banner had been a lifesaver when we’d found him. A guy with fresh experience and a PhD who bailed on the medical scene the first time he was told he couldn’t treat someone who could pay. He and Tony got along just fine, but having an actual doctor was surprisingly necessary. It beat the many times a member of our little gang got injured, then admitted to a hospital, then was snuck out a back door at the end of it to avoid paying. Coming up with fake names every time was also starting to get irritating. This way, we didn’t have all the best tech, but at least we had a doctor with some idea of what he was doing.

 So, I turned to him with a usual cocky smile (I probably looked like an asshole with the bandage around my head) and threw out a “What’s the damage, doc?”

 Banner shrugged, adjusting his glasses before turning back to him, “Well, assuming that you take at least a few days to recover, we’re looking at jumping back from some minor bruises and scrapes, which is normal, and a minor concussion, which is not. Tony’s not too pleased about you damaging another hearing aid, by the way.”

 Little bits and pieces started coming back the more I thought about it. I remember falling down an air vent, getting bunted by the end of a gun, a hallway of corpses…

 Oh, right!

 “Are the –“

“The kids you found are doing alright,” Bruce smiled softly as he pulled his glasses away, “After Tony read what was on file, well… the situation became a lot more understandable. They’re napping on an old mattress we found in my room, currently.”

And suddenly I could breathe again.

 “They were on file?” I asked.

 As if ready for that moment, Banner dropped a device on the bed, a typical holo-caster of some kind and got up to walk away.

“Don’t touch the view-settings on that, okay?” Banner asked whilst never ceasing to be polite, “I tried to get Tony to optimize in a way that won’t aggravate a headache. You have to be careful with that stuff when you have a concussion.

 “You got it, boss,” I mock-saluted, and soon I was alone with a few files in front of me.

 I was right, unfortunately. Of course I was right. They wanted the kids to boost whatever force they were building. In fact, the first note I found was a suggestion that they were planning on Jacking them the _very next day_.

 I somehow managed to get the best luck in the worst situations almost every time, but at least now we could figure out who these kids are.

Banner, bless his heart, had the profiles cued up just with the press of a button.

  _SOLDIER PROJECT SIGMA_

_001 – SUPER_

_Formerly “Steve”_

_Age: 9.5_

_Age Inducted: 3.2_

_No remaining relations. Public Records destroyed._

_Enhanced Skillset: Superhuman strength, speed, conditioning, and endurance. Minor healing factor and enhanced weapon skills. A leader-type capable of directing teams with expert efficiency. Program greatly increased metabolism. Requires nutrients far beyond that of a basic human._

_Displayed astonishing endurance during original testing phases. Originally very weak, his chances of surviving procedure were descending from 35%. Final results revealed enhancement beyond our expectations._

_002 – MERCURY_

_Formerly “Pietro”_

_Age 7.1_

_Age Inducted: 4.6_

_Related to 003 – pairing them together displayed superior results despite emotional codependency. No other relations documented. Public records destroyed._

_Enhanced Skillset: Superhuman speed, coordination and reflexes Capable of travelling faster than bullets from a standard gun and reacting accordingly._

_Initially displayed high levels of disobedience. Proper discipline measures corrected this mistake. Emotionally distraught without sister._

_003 – WITCH_

_Formerly “Wanda”_

_Age 7.1_

_Age Inducted 4.6_

_Related to 002 – pairing them together displayed superior results despite emotional codependency. No other relations documented. Public records destroyed._

_Enhanced Skillset: Matter manipulation, telepathy, psychokinesis, other. Psychic potential constantly growing and not completely known._

_WARNING: EXTREMELY DANGEROUS WHEN SEPARATED FROM SIBLING. DO *NOT* SEGREGATE FROM SIBLING. If an episode occurs, try to minimize the damage. Body cannot sustain extended uses of power without falling unconscious or requiring extended levels of sleep._

 At that point I had to drop the device. Part of me wanted to throw it away, like just being in contact with it was enough to gnaw at my skin and my mind.

 They were _kids._ Barely old enough to even know what was going on, and this is what they did to them? At that moment in time, I wanted to cry, eat a mountain of something, jump off a building and murder the guys that had decided this was a good idea all at the same time.

And then my head started hurting. Fan-freaking-tastic. That being said, it was no wonder that was what pushed Tony over the tipping point. Not that we had any real conversations about children, other than Nat calling both Tony and myself children on an almost daily basis, Tony and Banner were ethical dudes for the most part.

I swore that I would do whatever I could to make sure that these kids would never be set up for what Roxxon wanted from them. I would light the entire city on fire if it meant these kids could go to a park and eat ice cream and do all of that kid shit.

 There was a rustle beyond the piece of plywood I called my door that snapped me out of me toxic reverie. My eyes squinted as the plank tilted away, and bright blond hair and blue eyes started over at me.

 So I took a breath and smiled softly.

 “Mr. Clint?” The boy mumbled.

 “What’s up, buddy?”

 “Are you feelin’ better?”

 Was this kid an angel? Like seriously where the hell did he come from being so nice?

  I scratched at the back of my head, “I’m just a bit banged up, that’s it.”

 Steve seemed to shiver at that statement. I patted an empty spot next to my bed and, after a moment of hesitation, he stumbled over and took the seat that was offered.

 “Why do you keep calling me, Mr. Clint?” I changed the subject, “Just Clint is fine.”

“Uhhm, but aren’t you my elder, sir?”

“Okay, those words are especially taboo.” I shivered. Elder. Yikes, “You don’t have to call me anything except my name or some nickname you come up with, got it?”

 Steve, wide-eyed and shocked, gave a quick nod as he sat awkwardly at the side of my bed. His hands were folded neatly in his lap, and he sat with a soldier posture. He was so rigid I could’ve replaced him with a wooden plank and the movement probably would’ve been similar.

 That was not normal as far as I was concerned.

 “How old are ya, kid?”

 “Nine-and-a-half!” Steve pumped up his chest.

 “And-a-half, eh? That makes a big difference.

 “Uh-huh!” Steve nodded, determined, “It means I’m a whole two-and-a-half years older than the twins which means I have to look out for them.”

 Okay, we were treading a line here of appropriateness. On one side, the way he clung to that “and a half” was the most adorable thing I’ve seen this century, but this “have to look out for” nonsense was a little concerning.

 “So you’ve been looking out for the twins, eh? I guess that kind of makes you their big brother.”

“Uhm, I guess so…” Steve blushed, “they said that I was supposed to be their ‘captain’…

There was a break there. A small quiver in the boy’s spine as some memory came out. His face went flush, and his whole posture seemed to seize up any tighter.

 “It was important that I was the best leader, or we would get hurt…”

 “But you’re not there anymore, okay?” Clint stated. The tiny blond glanced up at him with the sky in his eyes, and I felt like I needed to break the clouds.

 “Stevie, buddy, you don’t need to be perfect. You just gotta be you.

 His brow furrowed, “What do you mean, be ‘me’?”

“Well… just have fun for now. That’s what kids are supposed to do.”

 Another confused look, so I just routed for the next step.

“Well, take it from the biggest kid on this planet,” I found myself chuckling, “I’ll help you kids have fun. No more tests, no more dumb guys trying to control you. And we start by filling you all up on the affection you’re missing.”

“Like what?”

 Ideas were spinning. Dumb, stupid ideas that were bound to get me in trouble, but with the kids I could potentially get away with it.

 But those would wait for when I could get this kid to come close without being called to.

“Well, to start, are you hungry?”

 Steve placed his hand on his stomach with a frown. Logically, the answer should be yes seeing as his metabolism was apparently greatly enhanced.

“I dunno…”

“Well, we’re going to figure out.”

 I hopped from the bed, and needed to grab for a wall right away because _good god when did everything start spinning again._

 While Steve seemed slightly concerned, I managed to steady myself a little, ruffled the boy’s hair a bit and start walking outside.

 “C’mon kid. Why don’t you wake the other two, and will make enough for everyone, got it?”

 A slight pause and a still-ruffled brow that would make him look like a concerned parent if he wasn’t so _fucking_ adorable, but soon enough he nodded and was running off to what was once Banner’s room.

 There were still a lot of things to figure out, but for now I was gonna make sure these kids had more than enough love for all the years in which they’d been neglected.

 And then I was going to single-handedly pummel every Roxxon scientist I found into the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, lucky for you the first conflict came into my head as I was driving around last night, which means you'll hopefully be getting chapters sooner than expected. As usual, any feedback would be appreciated!
> 
> enigmatic-cyborg.tumblr.com


	4. Living Conditions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Changing lifestyles takes time.

 If you’d asked me a couple weeks ago what I expected to find in the annuls of Roxxon’s basement, this was definitely not the answer. That being said, I’ve never seen this place been so lively before. The longer we were away from that company, the livelier it got, and I wasn’t even mad that our planning was being sidetracked sometimes because of it.

 “What’s that?” Steve asked gently as he trailed behind Tony in his lab. To the brunet’s credit, he still managed to navigate his way around his lab’s tiny space with Steve following after him like a golden retriever. Every time Tony interacted with some wire or welded some circuit board, Steve’s eyes glimmered.

 “Well, Jarvis needs a little more fine-tuning before I can get him integrated with the rest of our stuff, and my last motherboard burst into flames when I tried to program anything.” Tony smirked, watching the kid eat his words up.

 Could it be? Did we finally find the right sponge for Tony’s ego?

“Who’s Jarvis?” Steve furrowed his brow, “I thought there was no one else. At least that’s what Miss Tasha said.”

Tony rolled his eyes, “Well, Jarvis is an AI. Do you know what that is?”

 Steve shook his head, and at that point I was caught by another distraction.

 Namely, Nat in the corner practicing against a punching bag as Pietro skirted around her in a blur of silver. Pietro would pick up a weight and put it down, or toss a reaction ball around. Nothing would hold his attention for longer than a few minutes, which generally led to mischief at my sake.

 I had to hand it to the kid, his penchant for mayhem was absurd. Already I tripped over a trip wire he made from some spares that Tony had and I swore he probably would’ve strangled the kid if it wasn’t so funny.

 So now, on the doc’s orders I sat here on a bed, stared up at the ceiling and waited for boredom to kill me.

 Well, at least Wanda found a seat at the foot of the bed. She’d dug up some book somewhere and seemed to flip through the pages contentedly with a gentle hum. Just based on the look in her eye, I could tell she had the same mischief-gene as her brother, but seemed a little smarter about it. She knew how to sneak around and not make a big deal of herself, but also tended to be pretty quiet the rest of the time.

 Which was the best for my poor concussion.

  “Wanda!” A louder voice entered the room. I saw random papers settling around the room as Pietro was back at the foot of the bed, and Wanda giggled as she pulled him up. I was already groaning as the weight sunk downwards. It provoked some curious stares from the twins at the foot before they went back to their own conversation.

 I needed hearing aids to hear what was going on as it was, but then these kids threw knowing another language into the mix. Unfortunately, my life-experience left little room to learn anything beyond how to shoot a bow.

 “Everything good, guys?” I asked, not so much expecting an answer, but more so getting wide eyes from young kids once more.

 Wanda offered a cautious nod as Pietro pushed up the bed until he was sitting by my head.

 “You need those to hear,” he stated cautiously.

I smirked, “Yep.”

“You’re old, then?” Pietro smirked, though the tone was that of a question.

 “I’m not old, squirt. I’m just hearin’ impaired.”

He tilted his head.

 “My ears don’t work right, kiddo,” I sighed, “so I need these to help me out.”

“How old are you, then?”

I rolled my eyes, “I’m twenty-three.”

Pietro nodded, “Yup. Old.”

 Welp, that was that. Lightning quick my hand shot out to tickle at his side, he let out a quick giggle before he flashed back to the foot of the bed, where Wanda was giggling to herself as Pietro nearly launched himself off the bed. Even I was laughing by the end of it as Pietro’s face became steadily redder.

 It was at that point that lights started to flicker through the base. I tried to reach to offer comfort to the kids, but they were already up beside me before I could even move. They were a paranoid bunch, and I honestly couldn’t blame them. Things like lights flashing and surprising sounds were enough to freak them out.

 Classic abuse symptoms. It didn’t help that things like this was how we warned people of entrances.

 It was then that Banner came in through the wide garage entrance. Plastic shopping bags were stretched over his arms and worried eyes scoured the space quickly. Carefully, minding the twins at my sides, I pressed off the bed, and the pair grabbed at my legs.

 “Relax guys,” I chuckled, “It’s just Bruce. You know ‘em.”

 They didn’t budge. Whatever, I didn’t mind. I scratched at their heads quickly before wandering over with them coming out right behind.

“What’s the damage, doc?” Tony asked, poking his head out of the workshop, and Steve’s head poked out from behind him. A strange visor seemed to obscure his vision, though it remained to be seen whether or not he was supposed to be wearing it.

“Well, it’s not looking good,” Banner mumbled as he pulled a device from his back pocket. With the press of a button another holographic display appeared in front of them.

 Nat was the first to respond, “Yeah, that’s probably the definition of ‘not good’.”

 The display featured two rows of three pictures. Above were wanted posters of a sorts. Pics of Nat, Tony and I in decent amounts of color from various angles, and then a number and a line of zeroes longer than my arm.

 “Christ, that’s a ton of cash,” Tony smirked, “Almost makes it worth trading one of us in for some new tech, eh Legolas?”

 “Well, you’d be turning in yourself too so maybe hold off,” I retorted.

He lifted his hands in mock defense as I rolled my eyes.

 The bigger problem was the line of “Missing” posters below. Straight profile images of the three kids, again with large dollar amounts.

The one benefit was that they seemed to be lacking names for most of us. Well, all of them except mine. Since we stole and roasted most of their records, it seemed that Roxxon was struggling from a lack of information.

 I just got caught because my face is too pretty to hide from facial recognition. This was part of the reason why Bruce stayed out of active missions for the most part. Having at least one guy who could walk around without fear of getting jumped was definitely beneficial.

“They’re looking for us,” Steve mumbled.

His visor was discarded now, and soon he was standing next to the twins right at my side. There was a strange mix of emotions spread across their faces.

“Well they ain’t gonna find you,” I scoffed, “I’m not letting them take you back to that place no matter what happens.”

  Tony stepped forward while Bruce took the holograms away. His gears were churning. You could tell by how his hands jumped for his face, and his body seemed to start acting separately from his thought process.

 “I have a plan,” his finger shot in the air.

Bingo.

 “But I might need the kiddos to help out with it.”

Not Bingo. NOT BINGO.

 “Maybe clarify for us before Mother Hen over there has an aneurism?” Nat spoke up, and I was about to lash out in response when Tony just kept smiling.

 He pressed down on another device in his hand, and some lines of code and text seemed to spiral out of it. Tony was suddenly pressing a whole bunch of buttons at once.

 “Let’s just say that I have a friend who’s a sucker for cute kids, which we now have in spades.”

 I had to admit that the pressure on my chest lifted a bit, “So you just want them to help convince someone to help out?”

 “That’s the first step,” Tony smirked, “then we can finally get started on taking Roxxon down once and for all. That server was holding a shit-ton of information.”

 There was a gasp from the corner of the room, where Wanda stared wide-eyed and pointed at Tony.

 “You swore…” she giggled.

 Tony’s response was sticking out his tongue, which erupted into another mound of giggles from most of the kids in the room.

 But Steve was standing mostly still in the center of the room. Lines hard on his face as I bent down and placed a hand on his shoulder.

 “I wanna help.” He said, bringing his chin up, “You don’t have to leave us out of it.”

  I had a feeling this is where Steve was going with it.

 “Welp, you’re gonna have a chance to do that,” I stated, “But first,”

 With that, I pulled him up by the waist and threw him over my shoulders fireman style, leading to a surprised yelp as I brought him into another room.

 “You are gonna engage me in the biggest tickle fight of all time.”

 I swear that I could hear Nat’s eyes roll from across the room, even when laughter was he only thing that passed by my aids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More stuff incoming! Everything up to this point was written mostly in advance so things may slow down to this point. At least I have a plan for where this thing is going right now. It's been an experiment in crafting genuine connections between characters.
> 
> Again, Feedback is greatly appreciated!


End file.
